Technology plan

Bryan Zocher: Module 7, Week 2 Activity

a.     Do the district‘s vision, mission, goals, and strategic plans integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning, and are they aligned to this end?

“Vision: Portage Public Schools will empower every student to contribute intelligently and ethically in an information rich, global society.”  The vision statement does not directly mention technology. However, it is inferred, in the idea of empowering and contributing “intelligently and ethically in an information rich (through technology) global (through technology) society”.

“Mission: Through a partnership of school staff, students, parents and community, all Portage Public Schools students will      become effective communicators, responsible citizens, self-directed learners and complex thinkers. In order to accomplish this mission:

The school staff will: (1 of 4 points) Be technologically literate, complex thinkers in an ever-changing profession. (Direct technology mention)

The students will: (2 of 4 points) Demonstrate responsible citizenship through positive social interactions in various environments . Use innovative complex thinking strategies to solve problems and make decisions in everyday life. (Indirect technology inferences).  

The parents will: (2 of 4 points) Foster and support their children's creative thinking and actions, and help them understand the responsibility that goes along with self-direction. Model complex thinking and provide opportunities for their children to be complex thinkers. (Indirect technology inferences)

GOALS:

ACADEMIC

Students will have a strong academic base, which is our first priority.

They will have skills and knowledge in numeracy, literacy, science and technology to their utmost potential.

They will have a well rounded introduction to multiple disciplines including but not limited to the arts, humanities, and world languages.

They will be skilled learners, able to identify what they need to know and how to learn it.

They will be complex, analytical, creative thinkers able to make reasonable decisions.

SELF AWARE

Students will be self aware and have a positive self image.

They will feel confident in their ability to succeed.

They will understand their strengths, their learning styles and their creative potential.

They will recognize areas of study that match their unique set of abilities, talents and interests.

LIFE SKILLS

Students will practice positive life and social skills.

They will be good communicators.

They will be able to participate in and add to a group.

They will be physically active appropriate to their ability.

They will be able to make positive choices for a healthy life style.

CITIZENRY

Students will be good citizens of the community and the world.

They will be good citizens in the community in which they live.

They will make positive contributions to their community.

They will be good stewards of the environment.

They will practice honesty, integrity and ethical behavior.

They will understand, appreciate and demonstrate respect for diverse cultures.

They will be able to communicate with people in other parts of the world.

All in all, PPS vision, mission, and goals infer quality use of technology, but there are few direct mentions of use of technology towards achieving success. At this point PPS does not have a Strategic Plan.

 

b.     Are they coordinated and do they support each other in terms of their goals, activities, resources, and implementation?

All in all, PPS vision, mission, and goals are in alignment with each other but there is no mention of how of how, where, why or when the school district, staff, parents and students will implement and achieve.

c.      Does the district/school have a current technology plan? If so, how were technology needs assessed, and are they sufficiently addressed in the technology plan?

Yes. PPS does have a technology plan. The plan was completed in April 2011, revised in April 2012 for 2011-2014 implementation. “With the November 2007 voter-approved bond providing approximately $18,000,000 for technology, the district will have the funding for upgrades to the appropriate voice, video and data systems. All 15 buildings are connected by District-owned fiber that transmits all data, voice, and video traffic.”  “Portage Public Schools has invested and continues to invest in hardware and infrastructure which is compliant with industry standards. In addition, the District engages consultants and experts to assist in the design and implementation of system wide electronic infrastructure.”

There is no direct definition of how technology needs will be assessed in the Plan.

d.     What is the level and range of technology used in your district/school to enhance instruction and student learning?

”Currently all teachers have access to a least one internet enabled desktop or internet enabled laptop computer. The voter approved 2007 bond issue will allow us to upgrade all teacher machines and provide additional laptops for teacher use.

General fund dollars will increase the number of student use computers. The district is planning to establish a ratio of 2 students to a computer for secondary levels and 3:1 ratio for elementary buildings. In order to meet these targets, the district will be doubling the number of our current student machines from 1470 devices to approximately 3000.”

e.      What district policies, procedures, and resources support use of technology to enhance teaching and promote student learning, and to support efficient district/school school management and operations, fiscal management, and staff productivity?

STUDENTS: “Assessment rubrics for content and technology benchmarks are a part of our technology integration projects in grades 3, 4, 5, 8. Teachers assess the benchmarks according to the rubrics and post the scores in our Instructional Management System (IMS). The IMS system allows us to track our progress for the benchmark by student, class, building, or district. We are able to see how we are doing as a district year by year with our benchmarks.

Measures, Frequency, Personnel and Strategies

Students are evaluated quarterly on variety of state and local benchmarks. Technology benchmarks are evaluated during the marking period during which the students participate in the Technology Integration projects. Classroom teachers are responsible for administering the assessment. Teachers enter student scores into our Instructional Management System (IMS.) Teachers and administrators can use the IMS data to see which benchmarks need to be re-visited, and where we may need to differentiate to meet individual needs. Monthly grade group and department meetings involve staff in discussions of benchmarks. IMS is a powerful technology tool that allows us to monitor student achievement and adjust or deliver strategies.”

TEACHERS AND STAFF: “Portage Public Schools has made and continues to make significant investments in professional development. Professional development is necessary to assist teachers and staff to use the appropriate technologies to enhance teaching and learning. The district provides a variety of staff development opportunities that focus on effective application of technology in creative and innovative ways. Training sessions and workshops are offered at a variety of times and locations to assure they encourage participation by our teaching staff.

Offerings and Timeline: Staff can earn professional development credits in a wide-range of software applications online via the district’s subscription to www.atomiclearning.com. This model promotes flexibility and convenience. The service allows users to search by state standard, by ISTE NETS-S, publisher or platform.

Competencies: Meeting Technology Professional Development Standards for teachers, media specialists and administrators is part of all staff development related to integrating technology. In Portage we focus on meeting the content standards for students, integrate the best available technologies to meet those benchmarks, and train teachers and staff to implement the technology tools.

At the conclusion of each technology training session, we receive written feedback so we may continue to target meaningful professional development. The “National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers” are posted in labs used for training. In all of our professional development activities, we keep the national teacher standards in mind as we build teacher competencies through meaningful content.”

FISCAL MANAGEMENT/SCHOOL OPERATIONS: No mention in the PPS plan.

f.      How effective is the use of technology in your district and school?

At this point, PPS has the resources to purchase technology, has a professional development plan for teachers and staff on the use of technology, but has not fully integrated technology into the daily routine into the work of the district or provided teachers with a construct to use technology in the classroom.  If I was going to grade PPS, I’d give them a C.

g.     How do the strategic and technology plans measure up against the six (6) conditions in the enGauge Framework?

The enGauge Framework of 21^st Century Skills: Digital-Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication, High Productivity are research-based and presented, both philosophically and pragmatically. Furthermore, the means of bringing teachers onboard is laid out in a systematic process. The PPS technology plan talks about plans to purchase equipment, but no plan on the specific educational software or apps, or even the potential use of software or on-line applications or interactions with other learning environments. The PPS plan includes the student educational goals in regards to technology, but no plan on how, when, where and why to use the technology to achieve the educational goals.  

h.      How would you improve the vision, mission, goals, and plans to reflect the role of technology in 21st century schools?

First off, we need to stop simply buying equipment with no real plan as how to systemically use it. School districts who have given students ipads without a real plan, soon find out that the technology is more of an attractive distraction than a working, educational tool. Secondly, we the adults need to get used to the idea that we are no longer the information conveyors – the information is everywhere.  We are the ethical sherpas that assist students in navigating the world of information and assisting them to critically assess the good from the bad. Thirdly, we may need to let go of the idea of school building as a place where everyone comes together, every day. School buildings need to be smaller, more flexible scheduling, and have flexible work environments and experiential lab spaces. Fourthly, schools need to work with students to discover their talents and educational need, and then research and develop individualized learning plans that use a multiplicity of on-line, blended and real world applications, processes and platforms.    

i.       How would you improve the use of technology in your school to enhance teaching, student learning, and staff productivity?

Education for the Arts instructors are in the infancy of integrating technology for student learning; though as a whole they are all willing to take the “baby steps” needed (professional development and research) to successfully implement; and all instructors have Ipads. Currently all EFA classes communicate with students through Facebook and Twitter. The classes that are technology embedded (On-line, Digital Video and Media Arts) have state of the art equipment and the latest software. The traditional performing and visual arts classes are beginning to find ways to document, research, create, produce, share with the public, and assess using smartphones and ipads. I’m currently working with instructors to develop the means for EFA students to work on collaborative projects through technology. And hope that in the future EFA classrooms develop distance learning relationships with instructors and learners from around the globe.